Theory of Magnetism
by lavariel
Summary: Fell in love at 17, married at 22 and divorced by 27. In which Charles tries to overcome his bitterness at his ex-husband for abandoning him for the mutant cause and Erik tries to make amends and be a father to his five-year old adoptive daughter.


**Theory of Magnetism**

Chapter One

" _Militant-activist Erik Lensherr was reportedly released from a detainment facility in Moscow last Saturday after staging a pro-mutant rally in front of the Kremlin in June. In this exclusive photo, Lensherr was sighted leaving a hotel in downtown London with a blond-haired female in a white dress. Official sources say that the woman in white could be known swindler Emma Frost, who was recently rumoured to have broken up with long time mafia paramour, Sebastian Shaw…"_

There was a reason why he had divorced his ex-husband in the first place.

Sighing heavily, Charles Xavier turned the television set off. He stood up from the living room couch, gingerly rubbing his temples in exasperation. Even if the couple had went their separate ways almost two years ago, it would seem as if Erik would always manage to find a way to ruin Charles' perfectly good day.

Not that it was too perfect – Alex had once again managed to set fire to half of the laboratory and it was a good thing. Bobby was there to placate the situation somewhat but that was before Anna Marie had screamed bloody murder after finding out that her beloved winter cape was one of the casualties of the fire.

Telepathically, Charles sought out the presence of his favourite resident in the Xavier household. A small smile crept to his face, feeling his adoptive daughter's relaxed mental state – Lorna had probably dozed off talking to her zoo of colourful stuffed animals which also kept her from falling out of her bed.

Erik and Charles had adopted Lorna in their second year of marriage. Lorna had been just three months old, an adorable brunette ball of energy which kept them awake at wee hours in the morning. Charles had immediately filled in the role of doting father while Erik as the overly protective one.

Being a telepath was quite useful for taking care of babies – he didn't have to guess the reason for little Lorna's outbursts, he simply had to use his powers to understand and giver her whatever she needed at the time, whether it was milk, a new diaper or even a hug. Erik, for this part, made sure to make the entire mansion baby-proof.

Charles stood outside his daughter's room, peering through the slightly ajar door to gaze over Lorna. Her green curls stood in stark contrast to the pink blanket she had tightly tucked under her chin. A giraffe stuffed toy was clutched between her chubby pale fingers. He was so lucky to have Lorna in his life, especially now that he had lost both Erik and Raven to the folly of the mutant cause.

It was just so unfair to be abandoned by the two people he used to love most. Now, Lorna would have to grow up not just without Erik but without her Aunt Raven as well. The first three months was the worst – he had been a bad father to Lorna then, losing his sorrows in liquor and sex with strangers.

Charles would be forever grateful to Hank for stepping in and caring for Lorna when he could not. He eventually came to when he met Logan. At least, the alcoholism and casual sex stopped for a while until he got back on his own two feet. He had been on his six month of recovery from the divorce when he came home from the university one day and found Erik sitting on the dresser in Lorna's room, watching the daughter he left with a pained look in his face.

He remembered wanting to punch his ex-husband in the face for signing those divorce papers and leaving him behind to care for their daughter. Instead, Charles sat down beside Erik just as he said, "I'm sorry. I know it's too late to fix this but I still want to be a father to Lorna."

To which Charles replied with a few minutes of silence. He wanted to say, _you can still fix this, fix us, if you really wanted to but no, your mutant cause will always be more important than me and our daughter_. Instead, he said, "I'm not going to stop you if you want to be part of our daughter's life." Charles took a deep breath, licking his lips and fighting back the urge to cry. He walked over to Lorna and brushed her green hair away from her brow. She stirred a little but relaxed as soon as Charles rubbed her back, inching closer to her father's warmth.

"But if you're going to do this, you have to be here for her regularly. She has to see you around and you have to spend time with her. You can't just visit and go as you please. Lorna has to know that she has another father," he said.

Erik eventually agreed to Charles' terms – he would be allowed to visit Lorna twice a month or every two weeks. He has since to cancel any of his scheduled visit, much to Lorna's delight.

Charles would still regularly hear his ex-husband's name mentioned in the news, whether it was staging protests at the other side of the world to spearheading a mutant alliance with fellow activists. It was a good thing they never really covered anything on Erik's lovelife but that might be the end of it, now that he was spotted with Emma Frost.

He was actually expecting Erik today – they still keep in touch at least once a week through a phone call or two. It was mostly just to ascertain whether he was still alive and Lorna still had another father. Charles was actually surprised when the Moscow police called him in his university office last week, apparently he was still Erik's emergency contact.

The telepath shook his head at the warmth in his chest he felt then – he had spent months trying to get over his ex-husband and a minor detail like that should not put him in Charles' good graces. Afterall, Erik was still a bastard who divorced when he asked him to choose between their marriage and the ever-so noble mutant cause. But Charles could still be civil and play nice for their daughter's sake. His ex might be an asshole as a husband but he was a good father to Lorna.

A screeching sound and a slight prodding in his mind revealed that Erik was coming up to the driveway in a black understated sedan. A quick peek through the curtains showed that his ex-husband was getting out of his car, dressed in those god-almighty tight V-neck shirt and leather jacket. Charles _absolutely_ hated the fact how his ex dressed like a fucking hot Bond villain every single time and made him self-conscious about his floppy hair, pale freckled skin and short stature.

 _Fuck it, might as well get this over with._


End file.
